Saturday, January 12, 2008

By Carolyn Carlson
Albuquerque Journal Staff Writer

    Quite a bit of electric magic sits on top a gymnasium roof at the Southwest Indian Polytechnic Institute on the West Side.
    Magic in the form of the state's largest solar electric photovoltaic array installed in the form of roofing material.
    The next largest such array is one owned by the Public Service Company of New Mexico, which has a 30kW photovoltaic array in Algodones.
    SIPI is a National Indian Community College and Land Grant Institution serving American Indian and Alaskan Native students.
    It is also the first tribal college in the country to establish a renewable energy curriculum, according to SIPI President Jeffery Hamley.
    He said he is delighted to add this state-of-the-art array to the school's other sustainable energy systems.
    "This project is very consistent with what SIPI does," Hamley said Friday during a tour of the project.
    Gary Trujillo, SIPI's acting facilities manager, said the new array will produce about 70,000 watts of power that will go directly into the school's power system.
    Whatever electricity is left over will be run back into PNM's system and produce credits for the school.
    Hamley said this is a collaborative project between SIPI, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Sacred Power Corp.
    Sacred Power is a Native American owned solar integration company located within the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
    He said SIPI students will collect data on the new system to see if solar arrays are a good fit for other BIA buildings and if they are really cost effective.
    "We are always looking for ways to bring in more sustainable measures," Hamley said.
    "SIPI is preparing students for the technological work force. When students see institutions practicing what they teach, I believe it enhances their learning experience," said David Melton, a Laguna tribal member and CEO of Sacred Power Corp.
    Ron Hooks, chairman of SIPI's Science and Technology Department, said there are two sustainable energy classes offered to students. It is students in these classes who are getting important hands-on training in sustainable energy.
    He said students who take the classes are very excited about the possibilities of sustainable energy.
    "Many of our students come from reservations where they simply do not have access to power at all," Hooks said.
    One of those possibilities is using these solar arrays on homes in areas where there is no access to power.
    Hooks said having students involved in the solar project prepares them for the technological work force.
    Melton agrees.
    "Not only is SIPI walking the talk but there is added value in knowing they have created a renewable energy campus that directly contributes to the preservation of Mother Earth," Melton said.
    Solar Integrated, a California-based company, manufactured the unique photovoltaic roofing product.
    This is not Sacred Power's first SIPI project. The company has designed several state-of-the-art solar systems on the campus.
    The college, which was established in 1971, has a solar hot water heating system, a smaller photovoltaic system hooked up to the new childcare facility, a solar hot air system and a tracking solar carport located at the campus's Science and Technology building.
    Trujillo said the solar energy potential for the campus is unlimited.
    He said the project cost is about $1.1 million which included ripping off the gym's 24,323-square-foot old roof, installing the new roof membrane and then 17,000 square feet of thin photovoltaic array panels.
    Trujillo said the maintenance staff is learning how to run and maintain the new array.
    The thin panels are a far cry from the previous large bulky solar panels people may be used to seeing.
    Walking up to the gymnasium, the system cannot be seen. But climb the ladder to the roof and the array panels span out like a checkerboard.
    "We would love to have SIPI be the leading example of how solar and other types of sustainable energy can be used," Hamley said.
    For more information on SIPI, log on to www.sipi.bia.edu. For more information on the photovoltaic array, log on to www.sacredpowercorp.com